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One of the most touted features in Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune is the inclusion of new characters not seen before in the original game. Now some of you might wonder how much of an impact they have in the storyline. To tell you the truth, their appearances don’t really interfere with the course of the story. In fact, you could choose to avoid most of them if you want. Each one of these characters has their own unique sub-plot that the player must go through before they can join up. To be honest, about half of them didn’t seem to interest me all that much. However, there were a few characters that caught my attention. Unfortunately, I could only understand some of the things they said during their event scenes. If any of you don’t want to be spoiled, please turn back at once. I really need to take my Japanese lessons way more seriously now....

The first new character that I wish to talk about here is Ravness Loxaerion, a Walstanian fighter in service of Duke Ronway. I’m sure some of you already know who this woman is. In a way, she bears an uncanny resemblance to Holy Knight Agrias and Princess Ovelia from Final Fantasy Tactics. Not only does her sprite resemble the former, she even shares the latter’s hairstyle. I don’t know what the developers were think when they came up with her character design. For all we know, they probably wanted to infuse more familiar elements from some of their other well-known games. Ravness seems to have inherited Agrias’ aloof but stubborn personality. But at the same time, she’s just as insecure as Ovelia even though it’s not so obvious at first. If that’s not surprising enough, you find out that she’s actually half-Gargastan from her mother’s side of the family. While this issue is nothing new in a lot of role-playing games, it’s something that Tactics Ogre hasn’t fully explored in it’s theme of race and prejudice. Ravness will only join you in the lawful route, but you won’t get her immediately. The game makes it hard for players to do so since they have to make the right choices while keeping her alive during hostile encounters. Furthermore, you even have to trigger a few conversations with some of the enemy leaders in order to recruit this character. Regardless of which choice you pick near the end of the first chapter, Ravness will always defy the Duke’s orders no matter what.

If you happen to choose the chaotic route, Vice will show you how evil his sadistic side can really be by murdering the new heroine in an unceremonious fashion. The way he did it parallels Argath’s choice of method in killing Delita’s sister. Once again, the developers managed to incorporate certain aspects of Final Fantasy Tactics into the remake of Tactics Ogre. Some of you might complain how the lawful route gets all the cool characters (minus two of the Foriner Sisters). But have no fear, there’s another new character you can acquire aside from Ravness. In two of the routes in Chapter 3, you’ll encounter a Gargastan Necromancer named Cressida who happens to be one of Nybbas’ subordinates as well as Mordoba’s younger sister. Like Aloser, she’s very sore at Denim for killing her loved ones (which include her mother Cassandra and her future brother-in-law Didario). Cressida is a rather interesting character since she’s the only Necromancer in the story who’s been portrayed in a sympathetic light. The ones you often have to fight against (especially Nybbas) tend to come across as somewhat creepy and even fanatical at times. It’s possible to recruit Cressida if players choose to stick with the chaotic route. However, doing so will prevent you from acquiring Orias and Debordes even though they appear for a short while in Cressida’s sub-plot. One thing I have to say about this quest is that Nybbas deserves to be called the worst father ever. By the way, you need to have a good reputation with the Gargastans to convince Cressida into joining your army. Interestingly enough, she’s the only character who’ll sign up depending on how good your Chaos Frame is with a certain race.

Another one of the new characters in the remake is Diego Galet Azelstan, a retired pirate found in the fourth chapter of the game. It doesn’t matter which route you pick here since he’s always available. I don’t know much about Azelstan’s background since I haven’t finished his sub-quest yet. While Omish is where you can encounter this old sea rover, it’s also the setting for one of the extra scenarios featuring another additional character. Say hello to the Songstress Yulia, Canopus’ little sister. Technically, she’s not exactly a new character due to her original appearance in the original Ogre Battle game. However, this is the first time she’s ever been made a playable unit. Recruiting Yulia can be tough since you have to go through a series of battles within the Pirate’s Graveyard. For those who expected to see some character development from Yulia, prepare to be disappointed. On the plus side, this sub-quest does flesh out another side of Canopus that we rarely get to see. It’s interesting how wide the age gap is between these two siblings despite their appearances. If you think that’s weird, Yulia’s is romantically involved with Gilbert who shares the same age as her brother.

There’s one more character I should mention here. If you happen to take the lawful route of the story, you can convince one of the Templar Commandos from Lodis to join your side. In case you haven’t figured it out, it’s actually Ozma. Yup, I’m not kidding here. The only female leader of the Dark Knights can be recruited. Of course, you have to go through a few hoops involving Haborym before you can even acquire her as a party member. From what I can tell, she and that blind swordsman seem to have a personal history together. While I’m not sure about the details pertaining to their relationship, my guess is that they’re either former friends or lovers. This might be the reason why she and Balzepho are quite close even when the latter tries to stop her from seeing his brother. Depending on your actions, Ozma will leave Valeria or defect to your battalion. Well, that’s all the information I have so far. Aside from the aforementioned characters, there may be more that I missed here.

"How ironic that the world's salvation now lies in the hands of its destroyers."

Don’t forget about Cressida, Debonair. She and Ravness are some of the hardest characters to recruit due to their numerous requirements in joining you. However, both of their sub-plots are an intriguing distraction to the game’s main storyline. The developers even expanded Ozma’s relationship with Haborym and the other Dark Knights in the remake. You can’t help but feel a bit sympathetic for her when she has to choose between love and duty. While all of these individualistic scenarios have almost no bearing to the overall plot, they do flesh out some of the other characters who rarely appeared in the original game. For example, the players are given a chance to fight against the Dark Knight Volac during Ozma’s sub-plot. The same thing goes for Nybbas in Cressida’s scenarios since both of them have ties with one another. As for Azelstan, his side story is quite interesting even though it doesn’t have much of an impact on the plotline.

"How ironic that the world's salvation now lies in the hands of its destroyers."

Cressida’s surname varies depending on which path you encounter her. If you happen to be on the neutral route, Warren’s Report will register her family name as Lauya Zurbaran alongside her mother Cassandra and elder sister Moldova (who’s known as Mordoba in the original Tactics Ogre game). But in the chaotic route, you find out that she’s also the biological daughter of Death Master Nybeth (or Nybbas for most veteran fans out there). That would make her full name “Cressida Lauya Zurbaran Obdilord” just like Orias and Debordes. Now that’s pretty long if you ask me.

"How ironic that the world's salvation now lies in the hands of its destroyers."

That’s alright, Debonair. You can always come here to read her full name in case you forget. Oh yeah, Cressida is only obtainable in the fourth chapter of the chaotic route if you happen to be in good standing among the Gargastans. You’ll have to fight her on the neutral route in order to reach Nybbas who’s hiding at Fort Damsa. Like all the other unique characters in the original game, your chances of recruiting these new faces may depend on what path you’re currently taking. It’s possible to acquire four of them in the lawful route if you’ve played your cards right. By the way, I’ve heard from several sources that Ozma can also join you in the neutral route if you have Haborym in your battalion. However, I haven’t verified it for myself just yet. In the chaotic route, they never seem to interact with one another in Fiduc Castle for some reason. Is it because of her twin brother’s presence?

"How ironic that the world's salvation now lies in the hands of its destroyers."

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever discussed about Azelstan’s background story before. Right after Ravness was introduced to fans of the series, the developers of the Tactics Ogre remake also revealed this new character alongside the Xenobians during one of their earlier media releases. Azelstan is obtainable in all three routes of the game, but his recruitment requirements can be pretty difficult without the use of a guide. From my understanding, he’s a former pirate with a rather sassy personality despite his dark reputation amongst other miscreants. Surprisingly enough, he’s actually a sympathetic character who reminds Denam of the negative effects his rebellion has on the poor and deprived.

"How ironic that the world's salvation now lies in the hands of its destroyers."